Enjoy Great Films With Your Whole Family

The classic movies from Hollywood's studio system era are some of the best motion pictures ever made, but it is becoming harder and harder to see these movies, as many of them have not been released on DVD and the majority of movie channels tend to show newer films.  (Turner Classic Movies is the notable exception.)  Watching these great pictures is a fun activity which the entire family can enjoy together, and children will remember these movies fondly throughout their lives.

In this guide, I enumerate studio system-era classics which will entertain kids, parents, and grandparents.  The films are listed chronologically by genre with the major stars also indicated.  You'll be able to find these movies on television, especially TCM, and on VHS or DVD at rental and retail stores.  Many are also available for purchase on eBay.

Comedy

• Sherlock, Jr. (1924)  Buster Keaton
• The General (1927)  Buster Keaton
• Show People (1928)  Marion Davies, William Haines
• A Night at the Opera (1935)  Marx Brothers
• Modern Times (1936)  Charlie Chaplin
• Bringing Up Baby (1938)  Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant
• You Can't Take It With You (1938)  Lionel Barrymore, Jean Arthur, James Stewart
• His Girl Friday (1940)  Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell
• Road to Morocco (1940)  Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour
• The Princess and the Pirate (1944)  Bob Hope
• Road to Rio (1947)  Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour
• Here Comes the Groom (1951)  Bing Crosby, Jane Wyman, Franchot Tone
• Angels in the Outfield (1951)  Paul Douglass, Janet Leigh

Musicals

• Top Hat (1935)  Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers
• Follow the Fleet (1936)  Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers
• Pennies From Heaven (1936)  Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong
• The Wizard of Oz (1939)  Judy Garland
• Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)  Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien
• Going My Way (1944)  Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald
• Anchors Aweigh (1945)  Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra
• The Pirate (1948)  Judy Garland, Gene Kelly
• Singin' in the Rain (1952)  Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds

Action/Adventure/Western

• The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)  Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains
• Stagecoach (1939)  John Wayne, Andy Devine
• The Three Musketeers (1948)  Gene Kelly, Lana Turner, Angela Lansbury
• Treasure Island (1950) - caution: this film contains some violence which might scare younger viewers - Robert Newton

Disney Animated Features

• Fantasia (1940)
• The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)  Bing Crosby, Basil Rathbone
• Cinderella (1950)
• Peter Pan (1953)
• Lady and the Tramp (1955)
• Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Holiday

Easter

• Easter Parade (1948)  Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Peter Lawford

Fourth of July

• Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)  James Cagney

Halloween

• Bride of Frankenstein (1935) - this sequel is intentionally humorous; the original Frankenstein (1931) is excellent by scarier - Boris Karloff, Colin Clive
• The Ghost Breakers (1940)  Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard
• Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)  Cary Grant, Peter Lorre

Christmas

• Holiday Inn (1942) - appropriate for every holiday but primarily Christmas - Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire
• It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - caution: this film deals with serious issues and may not be suitable for young children - James Stewart
• Miracle on 34th Street (1947)  Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood
• We're No Angels (1955)  Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray, Peter Ustinov

I hope you and your family enjoy watching these great classic films!